The Mexican Inquisition arrested Ysabel de Montoia, alias La Centella, in 1650 and again in 1661 on charges of witchcraft, superstitious healing, and crimes of sensuality. As a well-known curandera, or magical healer, in Puebla and Mexico City, Ysabel served a broad client base ranging from prostitutes to city officials. After her first trial, Ysabel claimed that the Inquisition had granted her a special license to heal; she was able to expand her business and even gained inquisitor as a client. In her trials, Ysabel articulated alternate matrices for understanding gender relations, expertise, and religion. This thesis uses her case, and the figure of the curandera, to analyze women's agency and the influence of non-elite discourse in colonial Mexico.

en

dc.description.sponsorship

Haverford College. Dept. of History

dc.language.iso

en_US

en

dc.rights.uri

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/

dc.subject.lcsh

Women healers -- Mexico -- History -- 17th century

dc.subject.lcsh

Montoia, Ysabel de, 1614-1661

dc.subject.lcsh

Inquisition -- Mexico -- History -- 17th century

dc.title

License to Cure: Policing Women's Healing in the Trials of Ysabel de Montoia